Amend the Ancient Monuments Act 1979 & ban permanent building on scheduled sites

Background

Amend the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Mandate a total ban on the grant of scheduled monument consent for any development involving permanent above-ground construction on all scheduled monument list entries, where archaeological deposits are likely to exist.

Additional details

Current planning law fails to protect scheduled monuments from commercial development. Discretionary powers within the 1979 Act, often exercised via unscrutinised Statutory Instruments (SIs) or Henry VIII powers allow irreversible construction on critical heritage sites. This process ignores public opposition and archaeological evidence, as seen with list entry number 1009846 (Castle Hill). We must amend the Act to create a mandatory ban preserving all scheduled monuments for future generations